I know u guys dont think very highly of this beer or beers that are similar to this but i really enjoy these. I just finished Kens Bock beer (Shiner) and its bubbling away. Im getting my beer stockpile ready for summer. I wanna try a Dos Equis or something similar to this and ive done some research only to find out that no 2 recipes even come close to being the same. I need some recipe help here if u guys dont mind . Im not a fan of a hoppy beer nor a big beer so keep that in mind.
THANKS
Are you referring to Dos Equis Especial (the lighter version) or the Dos Equis Amber? I tried to make the amber version once or twice and I would probably be able to refine it a little now based on water, additions, etc. It’s a nice style but the majority of homebrewers I know will only say things like, “Occasionally I might have one or two with Mexican Food”. Okay, good enough.
Either would be fine with me. I drink the especial , the one in the green bottle and i love it. Im not good with doctoring up my tap water to fit the style but i hope spring water will work. I like a lot of different lagers and ales as long as its not to hoppy. I tell u what Ken , you give me a recipe that closely fits what im looking for and im game.
The pale version is trickier and I’ll be honest… I drink the amber much more than the pale one. For the pale one, you could try to just use pilsner malt, some flaked corn and maybe some Carapils, hop it once at 60 minutes with 4.5 to 5 AAU of something like Hallertau, Spalt, Tettnanger, etc. and then add another ½ ounce in the last 2 minutes or so. Ferment with 2124, 830 or 940. Make it to about 4.5% ABV and around 20-24 IBUs. Use soft water (the spring water could be okay) and ferment it cool and you could get close. The problem with all of these pale lagers is that there is very little difference in them. Using corn is almost always a good idea because the Mexican breweries use it… it’s cheap and locally available. The 940 is a Mexican lager strain and may set it apart slightly from the American yeast varieties.
For the amber, you could still use pilsner malt (or just 2-row base malt, pale ale malt, etc) and you could still use a pound of flaked corn in there too. Then maybe some Munich 10L, some amount of C60 and Carafa could get you close on color and maltiness. Then 4.5 AAU or so of a clean hop (Hallertau, Tettnanger, etc) and then maybe a small amount (¼ ounce or something) with 20 minutes left. Same yeast strains as the pale version. What yeast did you use on the Shiner Bock recipe? Here’s what I would do on the amber…
6 lbs pilsner or pale ale malt
2 lbs Munich 10L
1 lb flaked corn
8 ounces C60
1 ounce dehusked carafa III
1 ounce Hallertau pellets 4.5% for 60
¼ ounce Hallertau pellets 4.5% for 10
Wyeast 2124, White Labs 830 or 940
Mash everything at about 150-151. Water should favor chlorides, not sulfates. Chlorides make the beer smoother, rounder, fuller and that’s what I get from the Dos Equis Amber.
I used 830 cause i had it on hand already. I dont think it will affect the taste that much. I mashed around 154 , single infusion and batch sparged to get my boil amount i was looking for. I love me some shiner bock. Acually Fosters is my favorite store bought beer. Ive tried cloning it but never could get real close. I just brewed the memory Lapse about a month ago and then the shiner bock this past weekend. I want 2 more for a great beer rotation . I bottled the memory Lapse and tried one last nite after chilling it down… it was a little buttery but other than that it was pretty darn good. It needs a little conditioning im assuming. The rest of my rotation will be kegged.
Here’s a link to a Mexican lager recipe that’s supposed to be pretty good. I guess Ken hasn’t found this site or I’m sure he would have given you the link.
Link? 
Link? [/quote]
Obviously, I haven’t had a beer yet![/quote]
Oh, you old dog. You sent him to my site. Lulz. :lol:
Since I moved to Texas, I find myself craving these type beers and margaritas!!
I plan on trying this one out pretty soon:
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/888My biggest concern with these type beers and many others is the type of water to use. Our drinking water has enough chlorine content to sterilize surgical instruments so its no good to brew with. I been using bottled water ( Ozark,kentwood) in my past batches but I know it can be better with better water. Not only healthy yeast make a good beer but water to me plays the biggest part.
With water, you are better off using RO and building a profile with salts than using bottled you do not know the mineral amounts for.
I brewed this quite a few years ago and was a bit surprized when I found it to strongly remind me of Dos Equis.
Three gallons: O G 1.048, IBUs 26
4 lbs. vienna malt
1 lb. pilsner malt
8 ozs. caramunich 1 malt
6 ozs. melanoiden malt
mash @ 152 for 45 minutes
5/8 oz. German tradition @ 6.5% for 45 minutes
pinch irish moss plus
1/4 tbs. nutrient for 15 minutes
1/2 oz. tettnang @ 3.8% for 15 minutes
WLP 820
3 weeks @ 50
4 weeks @ 36
3 1/2 ozs. corn sugar to prime
[quote=“Rookie L A”]I brewed this quite a few years ago and was a bit surprized when I found it to strongly remind me of Dos Equis.
Three gallons: O G 1.048, IBUs 26
4 lbs. vienna malt
1 lb. pilsner malt
8 ozs. caramunich 1 malt
6 ozs. melanoiden malt
mash @ 152 for 45 minutes
5/8 oz. German tradition @ 6.5% for 45 minutes
pinch irish moss plus
1/4 tbs. nutrient for 15 minutes
1/2 oz. tettnang @ 3.8% for 15 minutes
WLP 820
3 weeks @ 50
4 weeks @ 36
3 1/2 ozs. corn sugar to prime[/quote]
Less than 6 lbs of grain?
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but “RO” is not just “RO” like distilled is distilled. Distilled water is all-zeroes-all-the-time. You’re starting from scratch with distilled. RO is water with a lower ion content but you still don’t know what those numbers are. I sent some store-bought bulk RO water to Ward Labs because I was suspicious of it and it turns out it still had high levels of TDS and over 50ppm of bicarbonate. I try to dabble in this hobby and try very hard not to get my hands too dirty but you really have to know your water numbers and RO water is not something where you just know the numbers unless you own the RO system (it’s in your house) and you know how to monitor the ion levels. Many brewers told me that “RO water is close enough to distilled that it doesn’t matter”. I disagree unless you know what’s in it.
[quote=“Ken Lenard”][quote=“Rookie L A”]I brewed this quite a few years ago and was a bit surprized when I found it to strongly remind me of Dos Equis.
Three gallons: O G 1.048, IBUs 26
4 lbs. vienna malt
1 lb. pilsner malt
8 ozs. caramunich 1 malt
6 ozs. melanoiden malt
mash @ 152 for 45 minutes
5/8 oz. German tradition @ 6.5% for 45 minutes
pinch irish moss plus
1/4 tbs. nutrient for 15 minutes
1/2 oz. tettnang @ 3.8% for 15 minutes
WLP 820
3 weeks @ 50
4 weeks @ 36
3 1/2 ozs. corn sugar to prime[/quote][/quote]
Less than 6 lbs of grain?
[quote]
It’s a three gallon batch.
I was suppose to brew the recipe Ken posted above a couple weekends ago but work and kids held my feet to the fire. Im gonna try one of these recipes and im gonna do a little water research before then but bottle water will still be available if research goes bad. If i brew a 3 gallon batch and it turns out good im gonna be pissed i didnt do a 5 gallon.
